How are you using technology with your ELLs?

[Lydia Breiseth]

Share your ideas, resources, and questions with the group!

[Amber Prentice]

I use a projector along with various websites to give a quick picture explanation. For example our history text book said that the American Indians taught the French how to make and use snowshoes. My students thought that they were talking about boots. By using google images (with the filter always set on high, just in case) I was able to show my students quickly what snowshoes are.

I also use the projector when my students are taking notes. I write the notes in word and project them for the whole class to copy. Its a great adaptation for LD students who have trouble copying quickly, I can just print the notes out for them and they can pay attention and not be overwhelmed by the copying task.

I have also found that my students will be more enthusiastic about academic writing if the project has a technology aspect. For my newest students, instead of writing a report about jobs, I had them create a power point presentation. Students that were reluctant writers wrote much more than normal.

[katrocada]

I am in mid-process in my ELL/ESL training, and I am very happy to find this Ning! I'm a Title I reading teacher in the Massachusetts DYS system, and I'm looking for more ways to integrate technology into my teaching practice for all of my students. Currently I use Lexia and Spelling City, a web-based vocabulary and spelling resource. I try to supplement these tools with as much realia as I can to enhance my ELLs' learning and encourage new concepts to stick. I'd love to hear what others are doing.

[Cassy]

Great topic!
During Hispanic Heritage Month, my students wrote "Where I'm From" poems. They were awesome. To accompany their presentation of their writing to the school audience, each student prepared a Power Point slide with images mentioned in their poems. Imagine... when my students read their bilingual poems on stage to the entire school community, the giant screen behind them projected their photo surrounded by the images from the writing, including a sound clip! It was magical! (To get this done, I taught two students how to search for, copy, and paste images to the slide. Those two, in turn, taught the next two students, and so on.)

Google and Bing images are indipensable when, at any point during a lesson, a picture is needed. Example - during a read-aloud of When Jessie Came Across the Sea - my students were unfamiliar with the word "lace". As quickly as the questioned was asked, I was able to bring up a few pics of lace and enjoyed my students' oooohs and aaaaahs.

Currently, we are studying the theme of immigration. My students are in the beginning stages of preparing a family tree, which will be finalized in a word document. Easy enough! Then, they will also prepare a pamphlet/brochure convincing travelers of the 1800s to come to the Promised Land. Anything I ask them to do, is preceded by a plan or sketch, so that they are ready to go once they sit at the computer.

I've FINALLY gotten the go ahead to blog with my students! More on that later - this teacher is setting that all up, and excited about it!

[Nathan Moore]

My elementary students k-6 are using Imagine Learning English. I believe Utah adopted it statewide.

http://www.imaginelearning.com/

It's a fantastic program. My only complaint is that the back end (for teachers) is a bit tedious to manage.

[MJune]

I have actually been searching for a good ESL Program/software to invest in for newcomers at my school (...if anyone has any recommendations, please send them my way!).
In the meantime, I have been using Brainpop ESL which is in BETA mode- meaning it is FREE for now! This is a very engaging and appropriate website especially for my upper elementary- middle school aged newcomers. I love Brainpop in general and have used it with my ELLs for various content area subjects, so I was thrilled to see that they had created Brainpop ESL.

[Amber Prentice]

For our newcomers we bought Rosetta Stone to use with some of our paras. The kids like it and seem to have learned from it as well. We used it as a treat for students who either finished their work early or for the newcomers who have come in the middle of the year and need extra help when things are too hard for them.

[Regina McHenry]

I love using technology with my students. I have a classroom with only one computer and there is one room with a Smartboard available to our K=4 elementary school with 4 classes at each grade level. So I am limited. But the visuals available through the Smart Board/computer hook up help all levels visualize and their enthusiasm rises tremendously when they can interact with the presentations.

[Regina McHenry]

I want a software program too and was looking at Rosetta Stone. I work in a district with a small ELL population and usually only a few at the Middle School level. However, these older students really need more help than one class a day. I have shared the WIDA CanDo indicators with the teachers but they still seem to expect and grade (or not grade) the students on the normal standards for monolinguals.

Amber Prentice said:

For our newcomers we bought Rosetta Stone to use with some of our paras. The kids like it and seem to have learned from it as well. We used it as a treat for students who either finished their work early or for the newcomers who have come in the middle of the year and need extra help when things are too hard for them.

[Cindy Hodgdon]

Each day when my kindergartren students arrive, 6 of my ELL students go the computer lab with 2 tutors and use starfall.com to give them practice with letter recognition and letter sounds. They spend 15 minutes there each day while the rest of my students are completing routine arrival tasks. These students have had no prior school experience and have had limited exposure to books at home. They are also 1/2 day k students so I'm hoping that this small amount of time each day will help them acquire the basic skills they need. They love this time on the computer and are highly motivated by it.

[Poornima]

Our students use Rosetta Stone and do two lessons, and after that then they go to the portaportal account that I created and choose any link of their choice. http://guest.portaportal.com/enl

[Regina McHenry]

What a great resource. Thank you so much for sharing.

Poornima said:

Our students use Rosetta Stone and do two lessons, and after that then they go to the portaportal account that I created and choose any link of their choice. http://guest.portaportal.com/enl

[Francisco J Alvarez]

I teach seventh graders... so making the class interesting is a challenge. I always use various internet resources to help with vocabulary expansion. We teach around reading selections with various topics. I find it helpful to explore the topics, building on background knowledge, through the use of audio-visual material on the net. I share these resources and I also encourage the kids to bring me material that I evaluate and use as part of the class. Sometimes, we will work on special projects in the Computer Lab. For example, using Windows Movie Maker, the students make small video presentations on the topic, putting them together at the end to show in class. I have seen that kids enjoy using the computer. They feel a sense of accomplishment when they are able to show their work in class.